A resilient cushioning dunnage product for use in packaging and packing

ABSTRACT

A resilient cushioning dunnage product for use in packaging or packing comprising an elongated pad-like article formed of a generally loosely inwardly crumpled web of sheet-like material, such as paper sheet, with the lateral edges of the web having been rolled generally inwardly prior to the crumpling thereof, and then connected together along the generally central portion of the pad-like article lengthwise thereof.

United States Patent Johnson [151 3,655,500 Apr.l1,l972

154] A RESILIENT CUSHIONING DUNNAGE PRODUCT FOR USE IN PACKAGING ANDPACKING [72] Inventor: George R. Johnson, Chagrin Falls, Ohio [73]Assignee: The Arpax Company, Chagrin Falls, Ohio [22] Filed: Feb. 9,1970 [21] Appl. No.: 9,620

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 703,588, Feb. 7,1968, Pat. No.

[52] [1.8. CI ..l6l/104,93/1, 161/124, 161/128, 217/53, 229/14 [51] Int.Cl ..B32b 3/04 [58] Field ofSearch ..161/35,47, 50,104,124,128; 93/1 R,1 WZ; 217/53; 229/14C [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS2,219,115 10/1940 Sackneretal. ..16l/104X 1,989,794 2/1935 Duvall..l61/50 1,497,189 6/1924 Mitchell.... ..16l/104 X 2,834,703 5/1958Atkinson... ..161/124 X 2,882,802 4/1959 Walker ..93/1 2,499,463 3/1950Crary ..93/1 X Primary Examiner-Philip Dier Attorney-Baldwin, Egan,Walling and Fetzer [5 7] ABSTRACT A resilient cushioning dunnage productfor use in packaging or packing comprising an elongated pad-like articleformed of a generally loosely inwardly crumpled web of sheet-likematerial, such as paper sheet, with the lateral edges of the web havingbeen rolled generally inwardly prior to the crumpling thereof, and thenconnected together along the generally central portion of the pad-likearticle lengthwise thereof.

7 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAPR 1 1 m2 SHEET 1 [IF 4 PATENTEDAPR11 1912 I 3,655,500

SHEET u 0F 4 E l g- 5 IN ENTOR.

WTTORNEYJ A RESILIENT CUSHIONING DUNNAGE PRODUCT FOR USE IN PACKAGINGAND PACKING This is a divisional application of my co-pending U.S.patent application, Ser. No. 703,588, filed Feb. 7, 1968 by George R.Johnson and entitled MECHANISM AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING CUSHIONINGDUNNAGE, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,509,798.

This invention relates in general to a novel cushioning dunnage productand more particularly to a dunnage product formed from sheet-like orweb-like material, such as paper, into a resilient pad-likeconfiguration for use in packing and cushioning articles or products inshipping containers and the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Various mechanisms and methods for producinglengths of packing material for use in packing fragile or breakablearticles in enclosing containers are known in the art. One suchmechanism is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,882,802, issued Apr. 21, 1959to Charles Robert Walker and entitled CRUMPLING DEVICE." However, thequality of dunnage produced on such prior art mechanisms oftentimes doesnot provide adequate cushioning capacity for the uses to which thedunnage is applied. Moreover, the mechanism and methods utilized toproduce prior art dunnage products are either too complex for thequality of dunnage produced or they do not produce readily handleddunnage material having suitable resiliency. Accordingly, the generalpractice has been to crumple paper material manually, with the packersindividually crumpling the material and placing it into containers asneeded. The latter method is inefficient and time consuming. Variousother types of dunnage materials such as, for instance, a plasticdunnage are known in the art, but these other types generally eitherrequire too much storage space or are too expensive for universal use.Applicants copending U.S. Patent application Ser. No. 640,l45 filed May22, 1967, now U.S. Pat. 3,509,797 also discloses various types ofcushioning dunnage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a novel dunnageproduct possessing considerable resiliency for providing good cushioningcharacteristics to the packing material, and is one with a relativelylow density per unit volume. The dunnage product of the invention isrelatively economical and is clean, and may be produced at the locationof use from highly compact stock material, and is easily handled.

Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a novel dunnageproduct or packing material.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel dunnage productwhich is of substantially pad-like configuration having a relatively lowdensity per unit volume.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel dunnage productof pad-like configuration comprised of at least one web of sheet-likematerial of predetermined width having the lateral edges of the webrolled generally inwardly into spiral-like configuration, and thencrumpling the web with the rolled edges radially inwardly into saidpad-like configuration, and with means connecting together theconfronting rolled edge portions of the web.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel dunnageproduct formed of a plurality of webs of sheet-like material which areformed into an integral, resilient pad-like construction of dunnage.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel dunnageproduct which utilizes sheet-like stock material, such as paper, forfabricating the dunnage, with the sheet-like stock material being ableto be stored in compact, dense condition, requiring relatively littlecubic feet of storage, and which stock material is expanded many timesover in the formation of the stock material into the dunnage product,and wherein the dunnage product can be formed at the point of packingoperations for efficient transmittal of the formed dunnage productdirectly into containers being packed.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel cushioningdunnage product which is formed of paper sheet stock material whichoriginally is in web-like form and wherein the lateral edges of the webare turned or rolled inwardly and then the web and its rolled lateraledges are radially crumpled to form the pad-like configuration ofdunnage, and then are connected lengthwise generally centrally thereofto maintain the formed dunnage product.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a generally diagrammatic topplan view of a mechanism capable of producing the product of theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the mechanism illustrated in FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken generally along the plane of the line3-3 of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view taken generally along the plane of 4-4 ofFIG. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows, and illustrating thepusher means which aids in rolling the edges of the sheet-like stockmaterialv into spiral-like configuration prior to movement of therolled-edged stock into the crumpling section of the mechanism;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary generally diagrammatic top-plan view of thecushioning dunnage product produced by the mechanism;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken generally along the plane of line 66 ofFIG. 5 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary, perspective view illustrating the rolling ofthe edges of the sheet-like stock material above the pusher;

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic end-elevational illustration of the generallyspirally rolled sheet material just after it has passed the pusher meansof FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic generally end elevational, fragmentaryillustration of the superimposed webs of sheet-like material with theirlateral edges .rolled into generally spiral form, converging into thecrumpler section of the mechanism for producing the pad-likeconstruction of dunnage product.

Referring new again to the drawings, there is illustrated a plurality ofrolls 10 and 12 of sheet-like or web-like material, rotatably mounted ona support 14, for feeding of the sheetlike material lengthwise of thedunnage-producing machine. The sheet-like material may be of anysuitable type, with paper, such as 30 pound Kraft paper, having beenfound to be satisfactory. However, it will be understood that othertypes of papers and other sheet-like materials may also be satisfactory,the Kraft paper having been found to provide a particularly expeditioustype of cushioning dunnage product.

As can be seen, the inner roll 12 may be of a lesser width than theouter roll 10 and with the axis of the outer roll 10 being preferablydisposed below the axis of the inner roll 12. The rolls 10 and 12 arepreferably not freely rotatable on the support 14, but are preferablyfrictionally resisted in their rotation such as by means of a relativelyclose fitting condition between the rolls 10 and 12 and their respectivespindles 15, to prevent over-running of the rolls during operation ofthe mechanism.

The dunnage-producing machine comprises a crumpler section 16 into whichthe superimposed webs 10a and 12a of sheet-like material are drawn, withsuch crumpler section comprising a funnel-like portion 17, a centralreducing portion 17a, and a distal end compressing portion 17b, defininga continuous passageway 18 therethrough. Funnel-like portion 17comprises a widened mouth 19 which slopes inwardly to a narrowed throat20, so that the webs of sheet-like material are compressed radiallyinwardly, or crumpled inwardly into an irregular random-like pattern,resulting in a generally rectangular-shape pad-like configuration asthey pass through portion 17 into the throat 20.

The lateral edges of the webs a and 12a are rolled inwardly as theycommence to leave the respective roll of material, with such edges beingrolled into superimposed spiral-like relationship, and with suchspirally rolled edges being disposed in generally confronting,practically abutting condition as they move into the mouth 19 offunnel-like portion 17 of the crumpler section. In this connection thereis provided a pusher mechanism 22 positioned upstream from mouth 19 ofcrumpler portion 17, for pushing downwardly on the webs of material andthus urging the lateral edges of the webs into rolled form as the websare drawn into the crumpler section.

Pusher mechanism 22 is preferably adjustably mounted on the machine sothat it may be moved longitudinally of the crumpler section 16 foradjusting the position of the pusher with respect to the mouth 19. Inthis connection, mechanism 22 may comprise a generally horizontallyprojecting supporting rod 24 suitably threaded as at 24a, and mountingan elongated support plate 26 on rod 24, as by means of mounting section26a and associated holding nuts 28. Support plate 26 may have adepending rod 30 supported therefrom, as by means of threaded endsection 32 extending through a complementary opening 34 in the supportplate 26. A series of the openings 34 may be provided for adjusting theupstream position of the pusher mechanism 22 with respect to the mouth19 of the funnel portion 17. Rod 30 at its lower end may have agenerally arcuate-shaped pusher member 36 (FIGS. 4 and 7) which isadapted to slidingly engage the top side of the inner web 12a andmaintain it in engagement with the outer web 10a as the webs moverelative to the pusher mechanism 22, and into the crumpler section 16.As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 7, pusher member 36 extends below thehorizontal plane of the lower extremity of mouth 19 and below the rollededge portions R of the sheet-like material. Threaded end portion 32 ofrod 30 in conjunction with nuts 37 provide for vertical adjustment ofpusher 36. As can be seen in FIG. 4, the mouth 19 of the funnel-likeportion 17 of the crumpler is preferably provided with a curved guidemember 40 defining at least the lower extremity of the path of movementof the superimposed webs of sheet-like material, for guiding thespirally rolled edge portions R of the sheet-like material as they passinto the mouth 19 and toward the throat 20. Guide 40 ensures that theedges will not inadvertently tear due to engagement with the lowercorners of portion 17 of the crumpler and aids in rolling the edges ofthe webs of material into spiral form. As can be best seen from FIG. 7,the rolled edge portions R of the weblike stock material commence tocrumple inwardly as at 41 as the flow of stock material passes thepusher mechanism 22. The crumpling occurs in a random pattern andcontinues as the stock material passes into funnel portion 17 and thenceinto reducing portion 17a of the crumpler. Such random deformation ofthe stock material produces considerable void areas in the formed pad,resulting in a low density pad. The length of pusher member 36 ispreferably approximately equal to the internal width of throat 20.

Generally central portion 17a of crumpler section 16 is preferably ofrectangular-like configuration, which causes compression of the webs ofmaterial into a pad-like configuration as they pass through the throatand into portion 17a. Portion 17a preferably has slots 44 (FIGS. 1 and2) in the upper and lower walls thereof and into which extend stitchermeans 45 for connecting the confronting abutting rolled-edge portions Rof the sheet material, as the latter is drawn through the crumplersection. In the embodiment illustrated, stitcher or connecting means 45comprises loosely meshed equal size spur gears 46, 48. Gears 46 and 48are mounted upon a respective shaft 46a, 48a which in turn are rotatablymounted in bearing structure 50 secured as by means of bolts 52 to theframe 54, supporting the gearing. Lower shaft 48a may have a pulley 56secured thereto, which in turn is operably coupled as by means of beltand pulley 58 to a geared speed-reduction unit 60, which in turn isdriven by a preferably electric motor 62. It will be seen that, uponactuation of the motor 62, the

pulley 56 drives the shaft 48a, which in turn rotates the gear 48, thusrotating the meshed gear 46. Bearings 50 are preferably adjustablymounted as by means of elongated slots in the framework 54, forselectively varying the spacing between the pitch diameters of themeshed gears, thus providing for varying the degree of stitchingprovided by the stitching or connecting mechanism. As the crumpledweb-like material passes into the stitching mechanism, the confrontingsections of the rolled edges R thereof which have been compressed andurged together due to the funnel portion 17 and central reducing portion170 of the crumpler section, are stitched together due to the coiningaction of the meshing gears, and generally centrally of the dunnage padP, and as at 66 (FIG. 5) to securely hold the crumpled webs of sheetmaterials together into a unitary pad-like configuration having verygood resiliency characteristics. After passing the stitching mechanism45, the formed pad passes into distal end compressing portion 17b of thecrumpler section prior to being emitted from the machine.

Compressing portion 17b has a downwardly sloping top wall 68 andinwardly sloping or converging sidewalls 70 which further compress thepad of dunnage material into a formed, resilient article.

A cutter mechanism 76 of any suitable type may be provided at the exitend of compressing portion 17b, for selectively cutting the produced runof dunnage pad into desired lengths. In operation, the motor 62, whichoperates the stitcher 45 which in turn moves the stock material throughthe machine, would be preferably provided with a conventional footswitch (not shown) wherein an operator could selectively control theemission of the length of pad-like dunnage from the mechanism and, bymeans of cutter mechanism 76, could selectively cut the formed dunnagepad to the desired lengths wanted, and could then shut down the machineuntil further cushioning dunnage was needed.

As can be seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, the lateral rolled portions of thedunnage product P are of generally oval, pillow-like configuration,having considerable resiliency due to the superimposed rolling of thelateral edges of the webs of stock material and random crumpling of suchrolled edge portions, while the central section, which is stitched as at66, is compressed together into a fastened or held configuration, whichholds the dunnage product in pad-like form, while providing excellentresiliency in the product. A 12-inch wide dunnage pad has been producedfrom a total paper width of inches made up of one 60-inch wide roll(e.g., roll 10) and one 40- inch wide roll (e.g., 12) of 30 lb. Kraftpaper. A piece of the dunnage pad approximately 9 A feet long weighsabout 1 pound and provides about 1 cubic foot of cushioning dunnage,with the latter thus having a density of about 1 pound per cubic foot.Other widths of pads can, of course, be produced by varying the size ofthe crumpler section. Varying the stock material width and/or the weightand type of paper will, of course, vary the density of the finalizedpad. While the feed of stock material and orientation of the mechanismhas been illustrated in the drawings as being generally horizontal, itwill be understood that it could be arranged for generally verticalfeeding and orientation.

From the foregoing discussion and accompanying drawings, it will be seenthat the invention provides a novel cushioning dunnage product which maybe readily formed from sheet-like material, into an elongated, pad-likeconfiguration of dunnage product, and wherein the product comprisesinward rolling into spiral-like form the lateral edges of the web ofstock material, and with the rolled edge portions oriented intoconfronting relationship and crumpled down into the pad-likeconfiguration, which is then connected together generally centrallythereof in the lengthwise direction, resulting in maintaining the formedconfiguration of the product. The dunnage product has good resiliencyand is clean to handle, and may be formed from relatively low costsheet-like material, such as ordinary Kraft paper, which may be storedin compact, rolled form prior to its formation into suitable dunnage,and which r A a may be fed directly from a dunnage producing mechanisminto containers at the location of use.

The terms and expressions which have been used are used as terms ofdescription and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the useof such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of any of thefeatures shown or described or portions thereof, and it is recognizedthat various modifications are possible within the scope of theinvention claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. In a cushioning dunnage product for use in packing comprising, anelongated relatively lightweight low density padlike article formed of aweb of sheet-like paper material with the lateral edges of the webhaving been generally loosely rolled inwardly into generally spiral-likeorientation and forming radially crumpled pillow-like portions definingthe lateral extremities of said article, and means connecting the rolledconfronting edges of the pillow-like portions together along thegenerally central portion of the pad-like article lengthwise thereof,the last mentioned means comprising lengthwise spaced interengagedcoined portions of said paper material, said laterally arrangedpillow-like portions of said article each being of a greater thicknessthan said central connected portion.

2. A dunnage product in accordance with claim 1 having a density ofapproximately 1 pound per cubic foot.

3. A dunnage product in accordance with claim 1 wherein said centralconnected portion is materially compressed extending lengthwise of saidpad-like article, each of said coined portions extending transverse ofsaid article, said lateral pillow-like portions being relatively looselycrumpled and possessing considerable void areas therein resulting ingreater compressibility and resiliency as compared to said centralportion.

4. A dunnage product in accordance with claim 1 wherein the width ofsaid article is materially greater than the thickness thereof at saidpillow-like portions.

5. A dunnage product in accordance with claim 1 wherein said article isformed of Kraft paper.

6. A dunnage product in accordance with claim 1 wherein said article iscomprised of a plurality of webs of paper material disposed insuperimposed relation with respect to one another and with thecorresponding edges of said plurality of webs being disposed ininterleaved, radially crumpled spiral form, providing said pillow-likeportions.

7. A dunnage product in accordance with claim 1 wherein said articlecomprises an inner web and an outer web of paper, with said inner webbeing of a lesser width than said outer web, and being generallycentrally located with respect to the lateral edges of said outer web,and with the rolled edges of said webs disposed in interleaved, radiallycrumpled spiral-like form, and defining said pillow-like portions.

1. In a cushioning dunnage product for use in packing comprising, anelongated relatively lightweight low density padlike article formed of aweb of sheet-like paper material with the lateral edges of the webhaving been generally loosely rolled inwardly into generally spiral-likeorientation and forming radially crumpled pillow-like portions definingthe lateral extremities of said article, and means connecting the rolledconfronting edges of the pillow-like portions together along thegenerally central portion of the pad-like article lengthwise thereof,the last mentioned means comprising lengthwise spaced interengagedcoined portions of said paper material, said laterally arrangedpillow-like portions of said article each being of a greater thicknessthan said central connected portion.
 2. A dunnage product in accordancewith claim 1 having a density of approximately 1 pound per cubic foot.3. A dunnage product in accordance with claim 1 wherein said centralconnected portion is materially compressed extending lengthwise of saidpad-like article, each of said coined portions extending transverse ofsaid article, said lateral pillow-like portions being relatively looselycrumpled and possessing considerable void areas therein resulting ingreater compressibility and resiliency as compared to said centralportion.
 4. A dunnage product in accordance with claim 1 wherein thewidth of said article is materially greater than the thickness thereofat said pillow-like portions.
 5. A dunnage product in accordance withclaim 1 wherein said article is formed of Kraft paper.
 6. A dunNageproduct in accordance with claim 1 wherein said article is comprised ofa plurality of webs of paper material disposed in superimposed relationwith respect to one another and with the corresponding edges of saidplurality of webs being disposed in interleaved, radially crumpledspiral form, providing said pillow-like portions.
 7. A dunnage productin accordance with claim 1 wherein said article comprises an inner weband an outer web of paper, with said inner web being of a lesser widththan said outer web, and being generally centrally located with respectto the lateral edges of said outer web, and with the rolled edges ofsaid webs disposed in interleaved, radially crumpled spiral-like form,and defining said pillow-like portions.